RoboHack

“The politician is trained in the art of inexactitude. His words tend to be blunt or rounded, because if they have a cutting edge they may later return to wound him.”Edward R. Murrow

“The media serve the interests of state and corporate power, which are closely interlinked, framing their reporting and analysis in a manner supportive of established privilege and limiting debate and discussion accordingly.” Noam Chomsky

The cosy relationship between the media and politicians has come under scrutiny this past year following a raft of controversial leaks and non-leaks.

Our Minister for Justice passed confidential Gardai files to Sam Smyth in the Irish Independent sparking reports that led to the downfall of Frank Connolly and his Centre of Public Inquiry. McDowell was then accused of abusing his powers by coaxing the media to do his dirty work.

However, as Bertie discovered after leaving political correspondents flummoxed when their predictions of Ivor Callely’s replacement proved wide of the mark, newspapers can attack politicians for failing to dispel rumours that journalists stoke up.

McDowell and Bertie were roundly criticised for their converse attempts at media manipulation but does this government view the media as a foe or ally? This reporter met with Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture and Food, to examine how she views her relationship with the media.

Outside the minister’s constituency office, on the first floor of the Pier One complex in Donegal town, the sunlight glistens on the water in Donegal Bay as pleasure boats bob in the high tide. The minister shares this picturesque view with the offices of the Donegal Democrat, the biggest selling paper in her constituency – only an elevator separates their domains. So much for keeping the media at a distance then.

It’s Saturday afternoon and the local hacks have the day off but the local minister does not. When the lift opens bearing the minister in mud spattered jeans, she apologises for arriving late. “Word of advice, never become a minister!” she warns.

Coughlan is fresh from the Donegal Ploughing Championships in Ballybofey and she obviously revels in her image as a politician who doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty or even her feet dirty. “You should see the state of the wellies in the boot of the car,” she says, noting the state of her jeans.

The symbiotic relationship between journalists and politicians is a vexed one. Politicians have information and power – journalists want that information but can’t be seen to give the politicians an ‘easy ride’. With local hacks based right on her doorstep, surely Coughlan and the Donegal media have a chummy rapport? “I would have a very close relationship with the written press and the three local radio stations,” she confirms. “And that’s based on the fact that I am almost twenty years in politics and now that I am a minister, people are more anxious to get access to you on particular issues. And because of the fact that they are local, they like to have a coup every now and again.”

The minister knows how important a ‘scoop’ or exclusive interview can be for a journalist and classifies their interdependency as “a good working relationship.”

Despite a modest population of 140,000, Donegal boasts nine local papers and two nationals – the Marine Times and the Skipper based in Killybegs – and Coughlan believes the fierce competition for readers means local journalists don’t use kid gloves when dealing with the local minister.

“The local media can still be sharp,” she says. [Read more →]